A top police officer is due to appear in court accused of an offence under the Official Secrets Act after he allegedly failed to safeguard sensitive documents which were stolen from an unmarked police car.

Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, of West Midlands Police, has received a court summons over the alleged offence in May.

The Metropolitan Police, which was tasked to independently investigate the case on behalf of West Midlands Police, said Beale will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on December 7.

A Met Police spokesman said: "On Tuesday, 7 November, the Metropolitan Police Service summonsed a West Midlands officer for an offence under the Official Secrets Act relating to failure to safeguard sensitive documents.

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Beale joined West Midlands Police in 2011 and held its security portfolio, with responsibility for the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit and local policing in Birmingham at the time the documents were stolen.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said he has been suspended following the summons.

West Midlands Police is the second largest force in England and Wales.